How can I use this as a mash tun/false bottom?

This pot is about $20 at a local supermarket. That steaming tray sits on the lip about 2" from the bottom, is there anything easy i could do with that tray to make it an effective false bottom? Could I just line it with screen or something? Otherwise its a cheap HLT...

How much does it hold?

it is a 36qt (9 gallon) aluminum steamer. i figure i'll wrap it is some sort insulating material and put a weldless bulkhead and valve below the steam shelf..

Sounds like a nice find! Which supermarket chain is it from? Send me one for my brewpot!

You sound like you have good ideas flowing. The only thing I am not sure of is the compatability of aluminum with weld/weldless materials.

Good luck with it!

No dice in my opinion, 2" of wetspace under the false bottom is going to require a pretty thin mash. Also, 36 quart is pretty small for a mash tun. Why not just convert a cooler?

I say give it a shot - wrap it with insulation and install the bulkhead fitting as you were planning. I'd say use either screen material or perhaps get a grain bag (the bags used to steep grains) to line the steam tray.

Bobby_M - silly question but isn't one of the more common mash tun coolers a 10Gal Igloo/rubbermaid? If so, this pot just 1 gallon smaller so aside from thinner mashing, why wouldn't it work?

mvdilts - The volume of water under the false bottom would tend to dilute the mash a bit.

mattrennert- You could always put something under the tray to take up some of the volume in that 2" height. I'm thinking a thick disk of plastic (maybe cut out of one of those plastic cutting boards?). That material is food safe, wouldn't absorb the liquid, would be pretty easy to clean and I would think would stand up to mashing temperatures (as long as you aren't direct firing the mash tun).

Bob

I think that is an awesome find. Here is an idea to make up the dead space in the bottom of your tun. Fill it with glass marbles. since they are glass marbles they are easily cleaned post mash, will take up much of the volume, and still provide a permeable media for worth to flow through. One important thing though is they will need to be pre-heated. Other wise they will be a huge heat sink in your mash. The added benefit of that though (especially since you will have a highly conductive tun), they will also radiate that heat out and help stabilize your temperature. Get them at a toys r us or wall mart and they are like a buck for a bag of 25. you wont need to many bags either.

and yes, tell us all what store this is.


BJ

That "false bottom" doesn't look like it's fine enough to handle the grain appropriately. Instead of spending time and money trying to make this FB functional, why don't you spend your resources on something you KNOW will give you good results (cooler MT, keggle MT, etc.)?

Why put a lot of effort into turning a Geo into a Lexus when you can just go buy the Lexus? It will save you a lot of headache.

just buy some ss mesh online, cut it to size with tin snips, cover the edges with silicone tubing sliced leangth wise and lay it rigt down on that aluminum piece. or even right on the marbles.

They have those at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market by me. I have 2 and use them as boil kettles.

target has them...google tamale steamer... i used one of these for my old stove top extract batches...its now a HLT.

http://www.target.com/IMUSA-32-qt-Aluminum-Tamale-Steamer/dp/B001ARYXNW

Brew in a bag. You will easily be able to do step mashes using direct fire because the bag won't be sitting on the bottom.

Is there an advantage to a stainless mash tun (with no insulation) vs.
a drink cooler (with insulation.)

Both better have a spout at the bottom for draining. Both should have some kind
of filtering system (false bottom, stainless filter, mesh bag).

5gal drink cooler @ HD is $20 too. 10gal is $40. Its cheaper to get the
spout changed out for a valve or hose than drilling a hole in a stainless pot and
buying a weldless valve setup. Filter setup shouldn't be too much more either way.

bentonre said:

mvdilts - The volume of water under the false bottom would tend to dilute the mash a bit.

Bob

Click to expand...

Ok, I'm just now starting to get around to PM/AG, so I'm going to ask a noob question here. Aside from having to boil off more water, is there a downside to diluting the mash? Does it affect chemistry or flavor at all?

I tried a quick search, but I didn't see anything that helped me. Maybe I'm searching for the wrong stuff. Any links would be helpful as well.

Thanks

jmendez29 said:

Ok, I'm just now starting to get around to PM/AG, so I'm going to ask a noob question here. Aside from having to boil off more water, is there a downside to diluting the mash? Does it affect chemistry or flavor at all?

I tried a quick search, but I didn't see anything that helped me. Maybe I'm searching for the wrong stuff. Any links would be helpful as well.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Hey, go to http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html/ and read John Palmers all-grain chapters. This is especially helpful to read if you you are just now considering mashing whether it be all grain or partial.

He covers everything you could wish to know in terms of science. He covers pH, water/grain ratio and the affects of a thin/thick mash, etc.

jmendez29 said:

Ok, I'm just now starting to get around to PM/AG, so I'm going to ask a noob question here. Aside from having to boil off more water, is there a downside to diluting the mash? Does it affect chemistry or flavor at all?

I tried a quick search, but I didn't see anything that helped me. Maybe I'm searching for the wrong stuff. Any links would be helpful as well.

Thanks

Click to expand...

Not as much as some of these guys will lead you to think. The "Brew In A Bag" guys are effectively mashing with their full volume of mash AND sparge water which makes for a really thin mash. With the kettle mentioned here your just going to have a little less sparge water.